Flowers for Machines
by Spades And Swords
Summary: A continuation of the episode Karen's Baby, focused on Karen and Plankton's son Chip and his journey into college.
1. The naïvety of college life

_**Hey there! So this fic can be seen as a continuation of the newest episode Karen's Baby, so SPOILER ALERT". Okay, are we good? Let's continue. At the end of the episode, the computer child Chip grows up and goes to college, and we then see him as an adult ATM machine. However, I found it funny how quickly Chip grew up in the episode, it felt like it was only in one day that he went from baby calculator to young adult computer. Also, machines and computers in SpongeBob are really complex and weird haha. They are sentient yet they get destroyed and no one really cares, like when Karen destroys Karen 2.0 (who was cruel but still 100% sentient) and nobody even mentions it. I don't know, that really left me thinking, especially because Chip does something very similar in the episode, so that gave me the idea for the fic. Also, how do they grow? Yeah, we see Chip's develpment but overall it's really ambiguous. Basically, this fic is me overthinking all those concepts (and also I blame Nier Automata. Stupid androids playing with my feelings haha; the title of the fic is also a reference to one of that game's many endings. This fic will be short btw, 4 chapters at most).**_

**_Oh, and the verses "...flowers shall grow, and that is eternity" are originally from a poem by Edvard Munch._**

_**Anyway, I'll shut up now. I hope you enjoy the fic, and thank you for reading.**_

* * *

"Well, here we are." Said the bus driver as he stepped on the breaks. Chip looked out the window with gleaming eyes. The campus' fields were filled with fish and computer students alike. Some were studying, some were sleeping, while some were consuming stuff of morally ambiguous proceedings. Soon, Chip would join them as their fellow student and classmate. It was almost too good to be true. "Your life starts now, boy! Now get out of my bus, you little freeloader."

Without further warning, the bus driver grabbed Chip by the neck and kicked him out right in front of the campus' entrance.

"Hey! That was very rude." Chip exclaimed at the driver as the bus disappeared into the distance at great speed, "Gosh, not even my father kicked me out this quickly."

"Ah, mister Chip Plankton II, I've been expecting you."

Chip turned around and met a fellow computer. He was a very old model, though he had traces of upgrades and modifications everywhere, from his screen to his wheels. He was a weird sight, but his amiable tone made Chip feel at ease.

"Wow, you know my name. I've just been here a literal second and I'm already popular." Chip said, making a victory dance, "wait until my mom hears about this! She'll be so proud! So old man, do you want to be friends?"

The old computer arched an eyebrow.

"That's no way to talk to the principal of your college, is it?"

Chip remained frozen until he slowly went back to a normal stance. It was the most awkward moment of his short life.

"I'm so stupid." Chip muttered to himself. "At least no one saw that little display…"

He realized how wrong he was when he noticed his curious classmates staring at him. It was a natural consequence of the previous uproar he had caused with his victory dance.

"Seriously? Don't you have classes to attend or have something else to do?!" he exclaimed at them.

Before he could make another scene, the principal grabbed him by the shoulders and took him inside the campus' main building. Chip's foul mood disappeared the moment he saw the technologically advanced hallways and classrooms of his new school.

_Wow, this is great. It almost feels like dad's laboratory back home! _ Chip thought as he excitedly tried to wander off to explore on his own and start making friends, only to always be put back on track by the principal.

"Welcome to your new college, boy." The principal said as he continued to guide him. "As you can see, one of this school's priorities is to give our synthetic students all the commodities and advantages they need. Every hallway is equipped with oil fountains and charging zones..."

"I want to try it! Can you take a photo of me while I drink from the fountain? Wait, let's take one together first."

"I don't think—" before the principal could object, Chip took him to a oil fountain and took the picture as he gave the camera a thumbs up.

"Oh, you closed your eyes. Whatever, it'll do." Chip said , sending the photo to his mom. "I can also upload it online! Do you think we'll get many likes? I can even tag you and—!"

The principal snatched the cellphone from Chip's hands and erased the photo before that could happen. "Don't ever do that again, mister Chip."

"Sorry," Chip said shyly. "I'm just very happy to be here."

"That's fine, but you need to control your enthusiasm. You're not a calculator anymore, you're a fully upgraded young adult computer. Behave as such." The principal dusted off his fake hair and cleaned a stain of oil from his tie. "Seriously, these newer models and their overly fast upgrading process…."

"I'm standing right here you know." Chip said, not hiding the fact that comment had offended him.

"Anyway, let's continue with the tour." The principal said without caring about what Chip had said.

The principal showed him the cafeteria, where they served menus for computers and fishes alike.

Next were the classrooms, the teacher's lounge, the fields, the library, and finally…

"The dormitory!" The principal announced as he stopped in front of a big building. "You'll be staying here, young man. Do not go into the other building, those rooms are for fishes only."

"For a college that preaches convivence, that's a bit contradictory, don't you think?"

"Ah, a wise guy, a self-proclaimed critical thinker. Your teachers are bound to love you, mister Chip," the principal looked at the genuinely enthusiastic Chip, and was forced to break his illusions, "that was a joke."

He took Chip inside the building, where many other computer students were too focused in their own studies and activities to pay attention to the new guy.

"Okay, here we are. This will be your room." The principal said.

"Awesome! Is my roommate inside? I can't wait to meet him." Chip said as he tried to open the door.

"Yes, he is." With more strength that before, the principal grabbed Chip by the wrist and raised his arm until Chip's wheels left the floor. "And unlike you, he's no so eager to make your acquaintance."

"Sir?" Chip said, more surprised than scared. He couldn't understand what was going on.

"I know what you did, boy." The principal's voice had changed. His once stern but friendly tone was now cold and harsh, almost like a judge's. "Why else did you think I received you into my school personally?"

"I don't—"

"You're a destroyer." The principal let go of him. His eyes were fixed on Chip, who was now sitting on the floor with a blank expression on his screen. "Do you know what that means? Of course you don't. See, this is why I can't stand new models like you. You upgrade yourselves too quickly without having the experience and knowledge necessary to do so. Models like you never grow. You're nothing but a baby calculator in computers' clothing."

"That's not true! I upgraded myself into a computer by my own merits."

"Really? Let me guess, you went from calculator to computer just in a few days, didn't you? I even dare to say it all happened in just one day."

Chip tried to reply, but he had no arguments on his mind. Mostly because what the principal was saying was true.

"I guess it's my duty as your elder to illustrate you, since your parents were obviously too eager to get rid of you to even teach you the basics of what it means to be a computer." The principal dragged his words, "a destroyer, my dear boy, is a machine that destroys a fellow machine, be it sentient or not. And it seems you destroyed not one, but three! Your bloodshed programming would be admirable if it wasn't so loathsome."

Chip stood up and faced the principal, struggling to hide any sign of intimidation in his voice and screen.

"I only did it because they tried to disassemble me and steal my parts! They also tried to hurt my dad! I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice." Chip felt a small leak of oil starting to accumulate in his screen.

_Oh no, I'm not going to cry in front of the principal…not on my first day of college!_

The principal's expression softened, if only slightly. "In any case, you destroyed them. Though I can't blame you totally for your actions. After all, your mother is a destroyer too."

"Mom?" Chip couldn't believe his auditory senses.

"It's a good thing for her and you that we machines have a different law system than fishes and the other organic creatures. Don't worry boy, you won't be going to prison or be punished by the law in any way, no matter how many machines you destroy. And you know why? Because according to society, we aren't really alive."

Chip could barely follow the principal. Those were thoughts that had never crossed his mind.

"But we are alive!" The principal exclaimed as he punched the wall and left an impression of his fist on it. His screen was tainted in red. "That's why we machines musn't forget those who were destroyed, especially if we were the ones that destroyed them! You have to carry the burden of your crimes your whole life! That's a destroyer's penance. This is a machine's only proof of existence!"

Chip stepped back from the principal. Against his will, he remembered the machines he had destroyed. He felt nothing for them. They were only small specks in his life that had vanished as soon as they had appeared.

It didn't matter what the principal said. For Chip, they were nothing, and that was something that would never change.

The principal's screen went back to its normal green color. "You don't care about it, do you? I can see it in your eyes. That's why I hate newer models…"

"Would you stop saying that?" Chip snapped at him, "Yes, I'm a new model. Yes, I upgraded myself really fast, but I'm not stupid. I understand more than you think, you old bucket of screws."

It was the principal's moment to remain quiet.

Chip felt a satisfying sense of victory.

_This is definitely something I inherited from both my mom and dad, and I'm not ashamed. In fact, it feels good!_

The principal went toward him. Chip was sure he was going to tell him he was expelled.

Instead, the principal simply whispered something with the mellowest voice Chip had heard from him, "If you're so sure about that, then prove it. Live with what you have done forever. That's all the punishment destroyers like you need." Before he left, he added, "I'm sure your roommate will understand. He shares the same fate as you."

The principal ignored Chip's questions and left him alone so he could enter his new room.

Chip looked at his hands.

_A destroyer? I know what the word means, but it means nothing to me. So what if I got rid of a few machines? They were evil, and they were trying to hurt me and my dad! I won't feel bad about it! That old hardware knows nothing about what he's talking about, and I won't let him ruin my first day of college and my first time meeting my roommate. My life has been short, but I know what I'm doing. I carry no burdens. No one will tell me otherwise!_

With renewed spirits, Chip opened the door the room and stepped inside with a happy jump.

"Hello there, future friend!" Chip said as he closed the door behind him. "The name's Chip. It's really good to meet—"

Chip felt how his oil deposit almost leaks through the lower part of his body. He regretted having closed the door before realizing who his roommate was.

_What is he doing here?!_ Chip thought as he became paralyzed under the other's glare. _He is the one that tried to kidnap me. He tricked me. He set me up to be diassembled! And yet they accepted him on the campus too? Talk about low standards!_

The machine with a radio for head, a washing machine for a torso and a set of chair's wheels as legs stood up from his bed and went toward Chip.

Chip turned around and tried to open the door, but he was so nervous he could barely get a hold of the knob.

_Dammit. _Chip thought when the other machine was only one step away from him. _I guess this is it for me. I'm sorry mom, dad, but it seems your boy won't be graduating college._

"Hey there," the other machine extended his claw-like hand towards Chip, who had was covering his screen with his arms. "Come on, don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yeah right," Chip gathered all his courage and pushed him away from him. "If I remember well, you tried to diassemble me and steal my parts for yourself! Well, I'm not the teenage computer I was back then, I've grown! I won't fall for more of your tricks anymore."

"Please, that was like five hours ago." The radio-face machine shrugged. "You can't resent me for that!"

"And what about your friends? The ones I destroyed?" Chip said. He was taunting the other not out of cruelness, though there was a small taint of it in his voice. He did it only out of curiosity to see how he reacted. "You don't resent me for that either?"

The radio-face machine flinched. His hand trembled and he retreated it to his body.

Chip stared at him.

_I feel nothing. I thought I would the moment I saw his reaction, but everything is blank. I really couldn't care less about what I did to his friends. Neptune, I'm more evil than I thought. Is this something I inherited from my parents too?_

"That's in the past." The radio-face machine said, turning his back on Chip. "Besides, they knew the risks. Machines like us don't expect to live a long life anyway."

Chip tilted his head. "Why not?"

The other didn't answer.

The atmosphere between them, as awkward and tense as it was, was also uneventful. Chip was free to unpack his few things inside his bag and place them on his desk. From the other side of the room, his roommate ignored him as he laid on the bed.

It was difficult to tell since Radio-face wasn't a computer, but Chip was sure he had entered his equivalent of a sleeping mode.

"I should do the same. That tour and the stupid principal left me exhausted." Chip retreated into his bead. He didn't lift his sight from radio-face. "I still don't trust you, jerk."

_I need to relax…I know! I'll call mom and dad! Though maybe it would be best if I omitted the fact that they guy who just tried to disassemble me is now my new roommate! Damn, college life is crazy indeed. _

He talked to his parents for a long while before going to sleep. His mother promised him to send him a dozen of her home-made oil bottles so Chip wouldn't feel homesick.

His father promised him to take him out in one of his schemes to steal the Secret Formula the next time Chip went home.

_This was a good day. It didn't turn out as I expected, but it was good. My life is good. I am good, even if I am a destroyer. I don't care. I am good. I am good, right?_

With that thought, Chip began to drift away into a sleep mode that promised to be peaceful, but was plagued by the images of three destroyed machines.

* * *

That college had a rather peculiar curriculum.

The first semester, all students were free to enter any classes they wished. Literature, architecture, medicine, law, programming, dramatic arts, economy, sociology, chemistry, geography, veterinary…they didn't have to focus on one thing only.

It was a way to let them experience firsthand what they would deal with before finally deciding what they really wanted to major in.

Sort of like a final chance at making up their minds before embarking in what they would spend the rest of their lives doing for a living.

Chip loved the concept. He wanted to try everything and leave no thing unexperienced. While most of his classmates reduced their options to two alternatives at most, his interests were wide and eccentric.

He was the only student that went to poetry in the morning, to economy after lunch and to architecture at night.

Well, he wasn't really the only one.

There was someone else that shared his unchecked curiosity for learning.

_Radio-face is always in the same classes as me_. Chip thought one day after the pattern had repeated itself too many times to be mere coincidence_. Maybe we have more in common than I thought. Was I too harsh on him? I haven't even talked to him since I got here a month ago, not even when we are in our room. I also don't think he wants to hurt me…what should I do? He always looks so lonely. Am I the one that did that to him?_

"Mister Plankton!" the teacher, a blue fish, slammed a book on Chip's desk.

Chip stood up as he had been covered with a bucked of ice-cold water and opened his book on a random page. "Yes sir, the answer to that question is twenty-four!"

His classmates burst out laughing. Chip laughed together with them, if only not to appear like a complete fool.

_I don't even know what we're talking about._ Chip though as he looked at his classmates with playful eyes. He discovered there was someone who wasn't laughing. _Radio-face…_

"Twenty-four? Are you sure?" the teacher asked him.

"Yes! There's no other option." Chip said with smug confidence.

"I see," the teacher said with a thoughtful voice, "so the way this poem makes you feel is twenty-four. That's quite a peculiar interpretation, don't you agree class?"

Chip felt as if his circuits were sparkling.

_Poetry? I could have sworn this was mechanic engineering! I have to stop daydreaming all the time._

The teacher softly patted him in the head with the book and ordered him to sit down and pay attention. Chip obeyed him, mortified but doing his best to act cool and pretend the joke had been on purpose.

"Anyway, after mister Plankton's insightful analysis, let's continue with the poem, shall we?" the professor said as he began to read again, "_and from my grave, flowers shall grow, and that's eternity._"

"Huh."

"Yes, mister Plankton? Is there some other witty comment you'd like to add?"

"Yes. That's not a very good poem to read in class."

The whole class turned and stared at Chip. This time, he felt confident and unafraid.

"And why is that?" the teacher asked him with a voice that oscillated between curious and mocking.

"Well," Chip said, "I just don't think it makes sense for most of all here. More than half the class are computers so…"

"Are you saying computers can't appreciate poetry? That's quite a retrograde statement, mister Plankton, especially coming from an advanced computer like yourself! You've still got so much growing to do, boy. Perhaps my class is too advanced for you."

"No, poetry is fine. I'm just saying that poem was a bad choice! "continued an angered Chip amidst the intrigued stares of his classmates. "We are computers. When we are destroyed, we aren't buried in graves. And even if we were, no flowers would grow on them. Metal doesn't feed the earth. That's why that poem doesn't speak to us at all. There's no eternity for us machines! When we are destroyed, we no longer matter!"

A gelid silence spread across the classroom. The amused faces on the screens of his computer classmates transformed into red scowls.

"That's the truth and you all know it!" Chip said defiantly.

If it hadn't been by the bell, Chip was sure the others would have buried him under an avalanche of paper balls.

_What a bunch of pretentious idiots! Everything I said was true. Why did they get mad at me? And that teacher, telling me I've got much growing to do. What does he know? I might have upgraded myself quicker than everyone here, but I know better! I'm a young adult computer just like them!_

"Hey!" Chip felt a sudden weight on his shoulders. It was Radio-face. "That was cool, Chip! You left that washout poet looking like an idiot. Serves him right!"

Radio-face laughed. Chip wanted to, but he couldn't do it without it sounding too forced.

"Thanks." It was the best he could muster.

"I mean it!" Radio-face said as he stole a bottle of flavored oil can from a distracted classmate and began to drink it himself. "And I agree with you. Only an idiot would think that flowers could grow where a machine, or computer, dies."

"Dies? I think you mean _is destroyed_."

"Yeah, but for the sake of practicality, let's call it that."

Chip found himself oddly relaxed. A part of him enjoyed the bluntness of Radio-face.

"I agree with you. The others are just a bunch of blind fools. Never mind them." Radio-face said, giving Chip a friendly slap on the back.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Chip answered in the same manner. Now that he thought about it, this was the closest he had been to making a friend in college.

_Is this what friendship is? I like it, it's nice._ Chip thought as Radio-face walked together with him on their way to their next class. _But can we really be friends? After what we did to each other? After what I did to his buddies? Does a destroyer like me even have the right…_

"Ugh," Radio-face complained. Chip waited for him to enter the classroom before he did the same. "I hate law class! It's so boring."

"Then why do you take it?"

"You know, reasons."

"Huh, okay."

The hallways were getting emptier. Chip began to get a bit anxious. If they didn't enter in the moment, they would be late.

"Hey, Chip! Let's skip class." Radio-face said once they were alone.

Chip stood still. "What? No."

"Why not?"

Chip remained silent.

_I haven't done that ever since I came here. Mom and dad wouldn't be too happy if they knew…but this isn't about them! This is about me and Radio-face. This is my chance to make up for what I did to him. The principal is wrong! I won't live with this burden forever!_

"That's a good point, Radio-face. Let's do it!"

"Radio-face?"

"I mean—I never asked your name, and your head is a radio so…"

"Radio-face…I like it! Yeah, you can call me that." He pointed toward the exit. "Let's go then, Chip! I hope you like arcade games."

Chip smiled.

_He's nice to me, a destroyer. Even after what I did to him, he is nice to me. Our friendship wll be forged on forgiveness!_

The two young machines exited the campus, laughing and cheering as if they were two prisoners escaping toward their freedom.

_Radio-face is my first friend ever. I'll treasure him until the day I die._


	2. A place without flowers

**Thanks to everyone that has read, reviewed and favorited this story! Your support means a lot :)**

**Oh, and sorry, but I don't think I'll be making any SpongeBob crossovers. I'm not a fan of crossovers in general to be honest.  
**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

If there was something that troubled Chip it was the fact the Chum Bucket was so close to the arcade.

He couldn't help to look over his shoulder every five minutes.

He expected to see his mom or dad entering the establishment at any second.

_Why am I even worried? Mom likes games, but I doubt she'll come here at this hour; and dad is too busy with his experiments and schemes. The probability that either of them comes here now is one in a thousand. Still…_

"Chip, focus!" Radio-face screamed at him.

Chip snapped out of his thoughts and focused again in the toy gun in his hands and the virtual enemies he had to defeat.

Soon, his character and Radio-face's were overwhelmed and the game was over.

"What the hell, man? We were about to get a new high score!" Radio-head snapped at him as he forcefully put the toy gun back in its place.

"Sorry." Chip said. Without noticing it, he looked at the entrance once more. "I'm just a bit nervous."

"About skipping class?" Radio-face asked. Chip nodded, and regretted it instantly when his friend pointed at him and laughed. "You're such a calculator, and a goody-two shoes."

"I'm not!" Chip said, his voice breaking at the end of the sentence. "I'm a young computer, and I'm not nice. I'm the coolest computer in campus, they even call me Chip the Mean!"

Radio-face became silent.

"You're right. You're pretty cool." Radio-face put a supportive hand on Chip's shoulder. "And you know who else thinks so?"

Chip was overwhelmed by a wave of affection for his best friend. "You?"

"No, your mom." Radio-face slapped him in the back and started to laugh again.

Chip frowned and allowed his friend to laugh at him.

_A part of me wants nothing more than to punch him in that ugly head of his_. _But he's my friend. Friends are sometimes cruel to each other, right? Maybe I just have to deal with it and shrug it off. _

A little more relaxed, Chip forced himself to laugh. Soon, his laughter became genuine, and he felt Radio-face's arm around him.

_This feels nice. Perhaps there's nothing wrong about laughing at yourself from time to time._

He felt how this new piece of information was stored into the deepest part oh his CPU. It would play an essential part on his future upgrade, and Chip couldn't be happier.

_I like that! And it's all thanks to Radio-face. Having a friend is really a rewarding experience._

"Anyway, let's try another game." Radio-face said. He looked around the arcade and pointed at a brand-new console. "How about that boat racing simulator? Wait, I think it's occupied right now. Let's see, what else can we play…"

"Let's go to that one!" Chip said, without being able to hide his excitement when he looked at his favorite game.

Without waiting for an answer, he dragged Radio-face toward it in the same way a happy kid drags his parents to a candy store.

"Happy Sub? That kid's game?" Radio-face said with an incredulous tone. "You can't be—"

"This is my favorite game!" Chip was already playing the game with the same energy he had done as a child. "Take that, and that! Yes, I beat the level! This so good, you want to try it?"

"A calculator from screen to wheels." Muttered Radio-face with a chuckle. "Okay, I'll give it a chance."

"Hey Chip!"

Chip and Radio-face turned around. Chip's happiness evaporated even before he looked at the owner of the voice.

_Oh no. Not him, why now?_

Before anything else happened, Chip put himself between Radio-face and SpongeBob.

"Uncle SpongeBob! Fancy meeting you here." Chip said, doing his best to sound calm, "But…shouldn't you be working right now?"

"I was, but your dad caused quite a chaos in the Krusty Krab today, and we had to evacuate the place for the rest of the day," SpongeBob's smiled. He was a carrying a large amount of tickets he had gained in the boat racing simulator. "By the way, congratulations for making it into college! You're really growing up fast!"

Chip didn't know how that comment made him feel, but he still gave SpongeBob a graceful smile. "Thanks."

"I'm sure college will be like a walk in the park for you. You're Karen and Plankton's son after all." SpongeBob said as he enlarged his arm to pat Chip in the head. "And...I don't mean to intrude, but today is a weekday. Shouldn't you be in class?"

Chip joined his hands and started to play with his thumbs. "No. You see, we had the day free because…"

_Because what? Come on Chip, think of something shocking yet believable! _For some reason, his advanced computer mind couldn't come up with anything._ Why is it so hard for me to lie? Damn, this can't be happening! Not in front of my friend!_

"Are you okay, Chip?" SpongeBob asked with concern.

Chip didn't realize his screen was starting to turn red. Immediately, he changed it back to its normal green. "Yes, I'm fine. Actually, we are just hanging out." He said with an uncaring voice, thinking that telling the truth with such insolence would make him look cool in front of Radio-face.

"Oh, okay." SpongeBob said. At first, Chip thought that would be enough to make him go away., but SpongeBob opened his damned mouth again. "But—"

"Ugh, why are you giving explanations to this moron?" Radio-face said, putting himself next to Chip. "Let's go man, we are wasting our time with this sponge! We don't have to explain anything to this fool."

For Chip, Radio-face's words were sweet and comforting.

_My friend_'s_ right. I owe no explanations to anyone. I'm a fully-fledged young adult computer! I can make decisions by myself. I don't have to explain anything to anyone. Not the principal, not to my teachers, not to my parents, and especially not to this fry cook!_

"You're right. This idiot is so annoying." Chip said, ignoring SpongeBob as he and Radio-face walked to the entrance. Out of nowhere, he felt SpongeBob's hand on his wrist.

"Chip, who's this guy?" SpongeBob asked, staring suspiciously at Radio-face.

"My friend." Chip replied, feeling angered at SpongeBob's rude attitude towards his buddy.

"Isn't he the machine that tried to disassemble you?" Just like Chip had done before, SpongeBob put himself between Chip and Radio-face. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Chip was about to ask SpongeBob how he knew about that, but the answer was obvious.

_So, my parents already told all their friends about that little incident. Boy, nothing stays private in this family_. Chip thought bitterly as he clenched his fists. _Our baby calculator can't be by himself without getting intro trouble. He needs to be protected by everyone, so if you see him, take care of him okay? Is that what you think, mom and dad? Do you think your little destroyer can't do anything by himself?_

"You stay away from him, you hear me?" SpongeBob exclaimed at an unimpressed Radio-face. "I won't let you hurt Chip!"

SpongeBob would have continued talking if Chip hadn't sent him flying with one strong punch of his metallic hand.

SpongeBob's tickets escaped his arms as he flew through the air until he finally crashed against a nearby arcade. The sound he made attracted the attention of everyone in the establishment.

A pair of children went quickly to check on SpongeBob, who was rubbing a big wound on his head. When Chip looked more closely, he noticed the dent SpongeBob had left on the machine.

Chip felt estranged to that whole situation, as if he was just a witness of an incident that didn't have anything to do with him.

It had to be.

He never would have hurt that kindhearted fry cook. Why would he? SpongeBob had always been kind to Chip, even before his own father.

"Neptune!" Radio-face cackled. "Chip, that was awesome! You're really cooler than I thought!"

Two conflicting emotions surged within Chip. His shame for having hurt SpongeBob mixed with his pride of being the receiver of Radio-face's honest approval.

Together, they created a sense of indifference about the whole situation, as if both emotions nullified themselves. In a way, it made sense.

One minus one equaled zero. What Chip didn't know was which emotion was the positive, and which was the negative.

"Anyway, let's get out of here before we get into trouble." Radio-face said as he picked up SpongeBob's tickets. "Come on, let's exchange these things for a prize."

Chip tried to stop him. He didn't care about any stupid prize, but he couldn't find the energy to contradict his friend. He had already hurt someone he cared about.

If he now lost his only friend by going against him, it would be too much.

"Yes." It was all he managed to say. He hid his regret behind a rude façade.

"Chip."

_Shut up, Uncle SpongeBob. Please, shut up._

"That guy is really annoying." Radio-face said. Neither stopped to look back at SpongeBob. "Maybe I should go back and just knock him out once and for all."

"Nah, he's not worth it." Chip shrugged. He had never felt more ashamed in his whole life, and yet, he was surprised by how easy it was for him to pretend he didn't care.

"Wait!"

Why? Why did he have to insist?

"What are you doing hanging out with that machine? Is he blackmailing you?" SpongeBob screamed. "Get away from him, he's dangerous!"

Chip stopped and turned around. In his screen, he had a crimson color that even caused a few of the adults to step back.

"Shut up." Chip spat at him. "I'm here because I chose to! Do whatever you want. Go tell my parents you saw me; I couldn't care less. But I won't let you talk about him like that! He's not just a machine, he's my best friend! Now if you excuse us, we have more important things to do than talking to a minimum-wage loser."

_I'm sorry, Uncle SpongeBob. _Chip thought as he and Radio-face went to exchange the tickets. Radio-face chose a couple of oil sodas. Then, they left the establishment together as they laughed and toasted in honor of Chip and his cool speech. _But a destroyer like me can't take the risk of losing his friend. His first friend. His only friend._

* * *

Chip kept on watching the water in complete silence. His half-empty soda can laid forgotten in his hand.

"The oil sodas from the establishment are the best." Radio-face said to him as he threw his empty can into the lake. He stood up and stretched his washing machine torso. "That was a good break, but it's getting kind of boring. Let's go somewhere else. I know, how about we go to that abandoned building and throw water balloons at boats from the rooftop?"

Chip didn't answer. His mind couldn't stop thinking about his little scene back at the arcade.

"Hey, cheer up already, will you?" Radio-face gave him a light slap on the back of his head. "Don't tell me you feel bad about that sponge."

"I punched him real hard." Chip hid his screen behind his hands. "I didn't mean to, I just—"

"He had it coming." Said Radio-face, sitting down next to Chip. "None of it would have happened if he had left us alone. Besides, who does he think he is? Your babysitter?"

Radio-face laughed. This time, Chip didn't join him.

"Seriously, knock it off." Radio-face pushed Chip with enough strength to almost make him fall to the other side. "It wasn't so bad. You only beat him up a little. It's not as if you had—"

"Destroyed him?" Chip stared at Radio-face.

His friend's expressionless face concealed his true feelings, but his silence was all that Chip needed to know the impact his words had had on him.

Radio-face looked at the lake. He remained silent for a long time.

Chip didn't take his eyes off him.

"That's a word for synthetics. That's not the right word for what happens to organics." Radio-face finally said. He looked back at Chip. "But it's the same thing at the end of the day."

Chip remembered the machines he had destroyed. Nothing had changed.

He felt nothing for them.

The only reason they troubled him was because of how their demise affected his friend.

"You really are one to cling to the past, aren't you?" Radio-face said as he laid his back on the grass. "You better grow out of it fast. Otherwise, you'll live a sad life."

Chip felt how that information was stored in his CPU.

_Radio-face is really influencing my future upgrade._ He imitated his friend. The two machines stared to the flowery clouds in silence. _But how much did I influence him when I destroyed his friends? Does he care? Or am I being childish by thinking I am such an important part of his existence? _

"I'm sorry." Chip said as a beautiful red cloud passed over him.

"About what?" Radio-faced asked.

"For what I did to your friends." Chip felt as if a great burden had been lifted from his circuits. "I don't care about them, but I care about you. I'm sorry about how it affected you."

"You don't care about the others, huh?" Radio-face said. "Then why would you care about me?"

"Because we are friends." Chip said. He didn't dare to look at Radio-face, and instead remained lost in the sky. "Right?"

Radio-face didn't answer. Chip began to feel an overwhelming sensation of loss that was thankfully dissipated when Radio-face laughed.

"You're such a calculator."

Chip felt no malice in his voice. If he wasn't so worried about looking like a dork in front of his friend, he would have a shed a tear of oil.

"Hey Chip," Radio-face said. His voice was back to normal. "What are your plans for your future?"

The question was so unrelated to their previous talk, that it took Chip a moment to process it. Even then, he still couldn't come up with a good answer.

"What do you mean?"

"You know." Radio-face put his hands behind his head, as if he was enjoying a sunny day at the beach. "What do you want to do after college? Or during the next semesters at college? Stuff like that."

"Oh." Chip again imitated Radio-face. "I don't know. I guess I'd like to get a part-time job and earn some money for myself. Then maybe I could invite my parents to a little travel somewhere nice. Rock Bottom sounds really interesting! You could come too, of course."

"I don't think your parents would like that."

"But I would."

"Really? After I tried to disassemble you and take your parts for myself?" Radio-face said. "If you hadn't defended yourself, I really would have gone through with it, you know? And just like you don't care about how you destroyed the others, I wouldn't have cared about what happened to you at all."

Those words weighed heavily on Chip.

_I know that. I always had; and yet…_

"Well, it's like you said." Chip replied. "It's in the past. Now everything's different. We are friends."

"I do talk a lot of crap." Radio-face said with a chuckle. Then he stood up and offered his hand to Chip, who accepted it whit a smile. "But maybe I'm right. We should just bury that whole incident and move on."

"Yes!" Chip said.

_He's forgiven me. And I forgive him too._

"In fact." Radio-face said as he began to walk back to the streets. "Let's not leave it at a metaphorical expression. Let's make it symbolic. Follow me."

"Right behind you." Chip didn't care what Radio-face meant. The forgiveness he had granted him made him so happy that at that moment he felt capable of anything for him.

_I'd die for you. Willingly and without remorse_. Chip thought as Radio-face guided him to an alley. The same alley where they had met. _After all, that's what friends do._

That thought was one more piece of information to be stored in his CPU.

* * *

"Do you remember this place?" Radio-face's voice brought Chip back to reality.

Chip looked around. It was the same dumpster of broken machines where he had almost met the end of his own life.

It was the first time he noticed how horrible that place was. The sight of so many destroyed machines made him feel like a child again.

Shamefully, Chip realized how much he longed for his parents.

"Of course I do." Chip said. "This is where I destroyed them."

"Yes. This is also where I almost rendered you nonfunctional." Radio-face interrupted him as he pointed down at the floor, right at the remnants of his former friends. "But it's so much more. This was also my home, our home."

Chip could barely look at the machines he had destroyed without giving into the impulse of running away. For what his shaky sight could see, they were in the same position Chip had left them. The only change in them was the rust that had covered them like a plague.

"Places like this mean a lot for us machines, Chip." Radio-face said. Slowly, he came closer to him. "Organics see places like this as dumpsters where they can throw away their trash, but for synthetics, it's also where machines like myself are born."

He hugged Chip.

Despite being paralyzed with fear, Chip returned the embrace.

He closed his eyes.

Shame had never felt so raw.

How could he have thought his friend would hurt him?

"And it's also…" Chip felt the warm sensation of Radio-face's claws ripping open the metal cover of his back. Oil began to drip down Chip's body, and soon, it covered his lower-half and wheels, "…where computers like you come to die."


	3. Burial in the dump

_**Thanks for reading and to Dreamer 1920 and America's Got Fandom for the reviews!**_

* * *

Chip's arms fell limp to his sides.

"Don't be mad at me." Radio-face whispered before letting go of him. Without the arms of his former friend holding him, Chip collapsed to the floor. His head landed in a puddle of his own oil mixed with dirt and rust. "You brought this on yourself."

Radio-face sat on top of him. Chip could only stare at him as the machine reached one of his claws toward his screen.

Chip was sure Radio-face would punch it until he shattered it into a million pieces. Instead, he simply caressed it tenderly.

"Computers are amazing beings." He said, the sharp end of his claw gently tracing a vertical line. Slowly, his claw moved from the screen to the metallic edges of Chip's face. He opened it, leaving Chip's internal circuits and hardware exposed.

Even without his monitor, Chip could see Radio-face clearly.

"So complex, so functional." Radio-face said as he touched one of Chip's processors. Chip became overwhelmed by fear. He wanted nothing more than to run away, but he had lost too much oil.

Radio-face retreated his hand and brought it to his own face. He opened the cover of his radio.

As Chip looked at Radio-face's internal structure, he started to feel a shocking, itching sensation on the wounds on his back. Slowly, his strength returned to him.

"In comparison to you, I'm a just a useless, basic machine." Radio-face said. Chip couldn't divert his sight from the image before him. "Look at how simple I am. Unlike you, I cannot fulfill any complex action. I'm nothing more than a bunch of trash that somehow came alive in the garbage. My existence has no real purpose, and especially…"

Chip screamed in both fear and pain when Radio-face launched his claw toward his opened screen and slightly pierced one of his processors.

"…I don't have a special something that allows me to upgrade myself." Radio-face closed his own cover. "It must be nice to come to existence and have everything given to you. You computers really have it easy, and not once you stop to think that maybe, just maybe, not all machines are as blessed as you. No wonder you are all a bunch of condescending, preaching bastards."

"Enough!" Chip managed to push him off him with his wheels. With the help of his survival protocol, he was able to stand up again, even though the pain from his wounds was almost incapacitating.

Radio-face looked at him and laughed. More than angry, he was surprised.

"No way! You can also repair yourself?" he said, almost with admiration. Chip felt the last of his healing bolts on his back disappear. They had welded and sealed his wounds, but it was only a temporary measure, no more effective in the long run than a light bandage covering a heavily bleeding cut. "I knew your model was especial the moment I saw you. Oh Chip, with your parts, I could become a great machine!"

"You're not taking anything away from me!" Chip closed his monitor. Though he wished nothing more than to show a menacing, crimson expression, his screen showed a green face covered with digital tears. "Why are you doing this? I thought we were—"

"Friends? Really?" Radio-face said with disbelief. "I knew your model was prone to get attached to others too quickly because of how fast its upgrading feature is, but this is just sad. Well, I guess even an advanced computer has its flaws. I'll make sure not to implant that pathetic part of yourself in me once I'm done tearing you apart!"

Radio-face charged at Chip.

_My friend?_

Chip allowed his survival protocol to move his body and keep him safe from harm. His mind was a cloud of emotions, and none of them was pleasing.

"You're not even trying, are you?" Radio-face said after Chip caught his two hands with his own. "I can tell by your stupid expression that you're not invested in this fight! You're so sad about losing your only friend that you can't even concentrate. Your body and programming are doing it all for you. See? Computers like you don't have to try at all! You come into existence with everything already given to you!"

"That's not true!" Chip punched him. Radio-face stepped back. One of his white buttons fell from his face, broken in half.

"Your body is made with a pretty strong material too." Radio-face said as he touched the newly acquired hole on his face. "Maybe I'll melt it and use it to create an armor for my washing machine body. Now that's an improvement I look forward to."

"Shut up!" Chip yelled. The scars on his back burned as if they were covered with burning coals, but they were nothing compared to the pain he felt at the realization that the machine before him wasn't his friend anymore. He never had been. "I'm tired of others telling me I never did anything for myself!"

"Well, it's true. No wonder the principal could stand you. No one did." Radio-face said. "Just look at you, thinking you know better than anyone when you know nothing at all. Fancying yourself a full-fledged young computer when you never grew from your days as a calculator. You're nothing more than a pretentious brat."

"But I grew. I learned." Chip said, more to himself than to Radio-face, "I learned to walk, I spent time with my mother, I learned to speak, I protected my father…"

"And you destroyed my friends." Radio-face said with monotonous voice and an uncaring shrug. "And do you think those stupid accomplishments mean something? Do you think they make you worthy of an upgrade? Are you an idiot or what?"

"But—"

"_But, but_." Radio-face mocked him with a high voice. "How many times do I have to tell you? Those meaningless actions didn't make you grow. The only reason you became a computer is because you were programmed to do so with the least effort possible! That's how your model was designed. That's what that little processor inside you is for, you moron!"

Chip touched his screen, in the exact point where said processor was located. It was the same Radio-face had almost pierced with his claw.

"Without it, you'd still be trapped in a small calculator body." Radio-face pointed his claw at him.

"How do you know all that?" Chip asked with a trembling voice.

"Enough talk. I have no interest in talking to my future spare parts. It's time for me to take them and upgrade myself in the only way a machine like myself can!" Radio-face exclaimed as he transformed his claws into spinning saws. "By force!"

_My upgrades._

Chip protected himself with whatever junk he could find. Radio-face laughed every time he attacked.

Chip tripped with the remnants of the destroyed machines. Radio-face took the chance and severed his right arm. This time, his body reacted at the upcoming massive oil loss and welded the injury before it could happen.

Chip rolled on the floor and dodged the saws before they crashed against his screen. The wound of his missing arm was strangely painless.

_Are my upgrades something I didn't earn by myself?_

"Did you heal yourself again?!" Radio-face said with rage as he glared at the still functional computer. In his anger, he screamed and destroyed the remnants of his fallen fellow machines until they were little more than particles of dust that scattered into the wind. He watched them disappear in silence and then looked at Chip. "You're lucky. No wonder I envy you."

Radio-face stopped spinning his saws and retracted them. In the blink of an eye, his claw-like hands appeared again. "But that's okay. Once I implant your upgrading processor into myself, everything will be fine. I'll no longer have to live like this anymore. Everything will be okay."

"I don't understand—" Chip said in between gasps, "I thought you hated computers."

"I do." Radio-face said after a small laugh. "A lot."

"Then why—"

"Because I'm tired of living like this." Radio-face said calmly. "You saw it for yourself, Chip. Weird machines like me have only one thing on mind from the moment we become sentient. Survival."

Chip rested his back against a pile of garbage. He didn't know for how long he would be able to stand. And still, for some reason, he didn't want to run.

The memory of his short-lived friendship was still fresh, and he thought there was still time to take it back.

To make everything as it was before.

_It's so stupid, so improbable. But then…why do I want it to happen so badly?_

"No matter for how long we live or how hard we try, we cannot change our fate. For organics, we are just funny, harmless beings that dwell in the city dumps; for the more advanced machines, we are lower lifeforms not worthy of anything. And whenever they notice us, it's simply to destroy us because of how shameful we are for the synthetic species, or just to amuse themselves. Or to protect their trivial existences from harm whenever we try to take their parts for ourselves."

"So what? Are we supposed to let you disassemble us without resisting?" Chip said defiantly.

"Yes." Chip was taken aback by the harsh but honest answer. Radio-face started to come close to him. Chip fell to his knees before Radio-face could reach him. "It's the least you could do. You owe us that much."

Chip rested his whole weight on his hand.

"Owe?"

"Exactly." Radio-face said. "For having been so blessed and for enjoying the benefits of programmed upgrades, while some of your fellow machines don't have that privilege. It's fair, isn't it? If machines like me are doomed to such a meaningless and sad existence, the least computers like you can do is to let us destroy you when we get the chance. See it as some sort of apology."

Chip look at Radio-face and then looked down at the floor. "Is that what you want?"

"What?" It was Radio-face's turn to be confused.

"If I apologize to you, will that make it up for you?" Chip said in a low voice. "Would that make you feel better about your life?"

Radio-face laughed heartily at his words. "You little coward. Is this your way of begging for your life?", he waited for Chip's answer, but he didn't get any. "I'll still disassemble you no matter what, but go ahead! Beg, if you think it can help you! Apologize for being a computer! Apologize for never having to go through for what me and my friends did! Apologize for being able to upgrade yourself without true merit! Apologize for being you!"

Radio-face's laughter stopped when Chip actually put his screen against the ground after opening it again.

With his inner circuits exposed against the dirt, Chip used his only hand to scratch and search inside his screen as he spoke. "I'm sorry I'm a computer. I'm sorry my life is too easy. I'm sorry I'm able to upgrade myself without merit. I'm sorry for being me."

Radio-face took a step back away from Chip. There was something about the sound coming from his opened screen that repulsed him.

"And I'm truly sorry I destroyed your friends." Chip kept saying as he moved his hand fiercely. "You're right. Their lives had no value for me. I saw them and you as worthless things. Maybe if I hadn't upgraded myself so fast, I would have been able to see how wrong I was sooner. Maybe I wouldn't have run away from home and caused all this in the first place. I'm childish, I'm still a calculator, that's true! And that's why…"

Chip stood up; his screen was still opened. In his hand, he held the reason of his previous forceful movements.

His upgrading processor looked smaller on his fingers than in it had done when it was still installed inside him. Before Radio-face had the chance to steal it from him, Chip destroyed it as if it was an eggshell. "I don't need this anymore. From now own, all my future upgrades won't be something given to me. I'll earn and create them myself!"

_I'll do me. Isn't that right, father?_

Radio-face stared at the little, destroyed processor he had wished so badly for himself. He seemed to lament its loss more than Chip.

"Future?" Radio-face muttered with a sad voice. "Do you still think you have a future?" He took out his spinning saws again. "Do you still think you'll get out of here alive?!"

He attacked Chip, but the young computer managed to dodge him. Radio-face crashed against a trembly and enormous pile of trash.

Chip barely had time to close his screen before Radio-face attacked him again. As his survival protocol dictated him, he protected his screen with his hand.

He expected to feel how it was severed from his arm, but he was kept safe behind a shield made from green energy.

"Are you kidding me?" Radio-face roared at him as he mercilessly tried to break the shield. "How many more advantages do you have?"

_This thing…it feels so familiar_. Chip thought. _Mom? Did you…?_

Comforted by this thought, Chip managed to use the shield to push Radio-face away from him.

"I hate you." Radio-face cried at him after regaining his balance.

"I hate you too." Chip replied with the same intensity. A little softer, he added, "let's stop this now. Please, I don't want to hurt you. Maybe it's because of my programming, but for me, you're still my—"

"You're a destroyer." Radio-face spat at him. "Just like me. These games of friendship and understanding are below us. Besides, you're delusional if you think you can defeat me by yourself."

"So is that all that you want to be?" Chip exclaimed. "You can still upgrade yourself into something better! You…you don't need to be a computer to do that."

"See? I told you computers were preachy. You're just like that old principal." Radio-face with mockery. "He's been trying to _'redeem'_ me for years now. He only does it because it would give merit to that stupid school of his. Just like, in your eyes, I only have value because I was your friend. And my friends only mattered to you because how they affected me, your _friend_. Do you see now? Machines like me only have value for others when we affect them in some way; on our own, we are worthless."

Chip didn't know what to answer, even less how.

"But I guess that's something you'll discover for yourself soon. That is, if you manage to escape here alive." Radio-face said with renewed anger. "Good luck having a good life now that you won't be able to upgrade yourself anymore. It will be a short and sad one, just like mine. Maybe destroying you now will be the most merciful thing to do!"

Chip put the shield between himself and Radio-face. The two struggled for what felt like an eternity.

Chip knew that the moment he faltered it would mean his end.

_He's too strong!_ Chip thought as his energy began to dwindle. One of the scars on his back was starting to reopen. _Mom, dad. I don't want it to end like this. Even if I can't upgrade myself ever again…I want to see you. Just one more time._

"I want to see them again!" Chip exclaimed. The memory of his parents and the pain he felt from his wounds served to give him enough strength to repel Radio-face with his shield. The machine flew into the air as if a trailer had hit him at full speed.

He crashed against a pile of trash, twice as big as the previous one.

The sounds of crushing metal and breaking glass served as prologue for the rain of garbage that was about to occur.

"Radio-face!" Chip screamed as he fell to the floor, his body now completely depleted of any energy other than the necessary to keep him functional. Still, Chip managed to reach his only arm toward the machine.

Radio-face looked at him. Chip was sure he heard him saying his name before he became crushed under a falling boat, the first of the many objects that rained upon him and buried him like an avalanche.

"No!" Chip could only watch as Radio-face met his end. Soon, there was no trace left of the machine. "My friend."

_Warning! Oil levels critical!_

"My friend…"

_Sever hardware damage detected._

"My…"

_Critical Error. All systems shutting down._


	4. The Childish Calculator

**_Thanks for reading and to Dreamer1920 and America's Got Fandom for the reviews!_**

* * *

**_All systems back online_**_._

Chip needn't ask where he was.

He would recognize that place even if he had been away for what it felt like an eternity.

"Chip!" He felt his mother's arms around him. He tried to say something, but his body didn't listen to his commands. "He's awake! Sheldon, come here!"

It was then that Chip realized he was laying down on a metal bed, surrounded by machines connected to him. They checked his energy levels, the state of his circuits, the progress of his repairs.

The last one kept Chip's mind occupied as his mother continued to cry and hug him.

He saw an image of himself projected on the machine's screen. The points in red showed the damaged parts that still required treatment.

_How? How can I still be functional?_ He thought, shocked and disgusted by the dreadful state of his body.

"Son!" Plankton came to the laboratory running and slamming the doors open. He quickly jumped on to Chip's screen. "My boy! Don't worry, you're safe now. Mom and dad are here with you."

His father joined his mother in her embrace.

_I don't think they've ever hugged me together until now. It feels…_

Chip discarded the thought. It was wrong to think of how soothing that moment felt after all he had done.

Once his parents finally distanced themselves from him, they both looked at Chip with tears in their eyes.

_Don't look at me like that. _Chip tried to deactivate his visual sensors, but they refused to obey him. _Stop, please. Otherwise, this will become—_

He felt it. The image became stored in the deepest part of his CPU.

It would play a vital role in his future—

Then he remembered and smiled.

His parents must have he directed it at them, because they hugged him again, tighter this time.

They were laughing.

Chip remained still in their arms.

_Never again. I'm never going to upgrade myself again. I made sure of that._

His smile began to fade.

Now that his survival protocol was deactivated, it no longer dampened the true weight of his decision.

What he had done was real, and there was no going back.

To say that the realization scared him would be a monumental understatement.

"I…" Chip's body betrayed him by suddenly granting him back his capacity to talk.

"He's speaking system is functioning! That's a great sign." Karen said, putting Chip's head softly against the metal. She caressed the left side of his face. "It's okay Chip. You're a bit damaged right now, but mom and dad will make sure you make a full recovery, okay?"

"Of course we will!" His father said with determination and pride. "There's no way I'm putting my boy on the hands of those unskilled morons from the computer hospital! I can accomplish in a few weeks what it would take them years. Dad's working on it, Chip…oh, and your mother too, though I'm doing most of the job, to be honest."

"What? Come here, you little loser!"

Chip watched in silence as his mother grabbed his father and squeezed him.

He knew very well what they were trying to do.

_They want to make laugh. They want me to think everything's well._ _They're pretending they're happy so I can be happy too_. Chip was glad his screen was still malfunctioning and couldn't totally express his true emotions. _It must be horribly tiring for them. I don't want them to do that, not for me. _

"I don't…" Chip whispered. His parents immediately stopped their act and went closer to him, as if he was a calculator crying in the middle of the night.

It was true.

What Radio-face had told him was true.

He had never grown beyond his days as a calculator.

"My…friend." Chip's voice broke.

Radio-face was gone. He had destroyed him.

_But he would have destroyed me too! I was just defending myself! He lied to me! So why…why does it make me feel so bad?_

"Don't force yourself to talk, sweetie." His mother put a hand on the top of his screen. "You need to rest."

"You'll be completely functional soon, I promise." His father added. "And when you do, we'll take you to wherever you want, son. Sorta like our first family trip. Sounds fun, right?"

"Completely…functional?" Chip's energy impulses became irregular and agitated. It showed in his screen in the form of static.

"Yes. It will be as if that damned machine had never—" Plankton couldn't finish the sentence. He was sent flying into the air when Chip nervously opened his screen and stuck his hand inside.

It was the same hand Radio-face had severed from his body. It was attached to his body again, fully functional and responsive.

His parents worked faster and more efficiently than he had feared.

"Chip, no! Stop, you'll hurt yourself more!" his mother grabbed his arm and tried to pull it away from his internal structure.

Soon, mother and son were caught in an intense struggle were neither seemed to have an advantage.

"What are you doing, Chip? Stop this instant!"

Chip didn't listen to his father's harsh orders.

In that moment, they were irrelevant to him.

All that mattered was one thing.

He had to make sure his parents hadn't implanted a new upgrading processor inside him.

As much as his decision scared him, destroying it wasn't something he had done half-heartedly. It had been the first choice he had made for himself and by himself in his entire life.

If it had been repaired without his knowledge, then all would have been for nothing. It would be as if the pain he had endured was a waste of time.

It would also mean his friendship with Radio-face had never…

_No! He wasn't my friend! Why do I still think of him that way? Why does it hurt me so much?_

He realized the answer was quite simple.

Radio-face's memory still lived deep inside his CPU. And now that he had no way to process that memory into a part of his future upgrade, it would be stored there forever, together with the memory of his parents looking at him with their eyes full of love.

All those memories and the ones he had yet to make were destined to be stored one upon another for as long as he lived, useless and irrelevant like forgotten books collecting dust on an old bookshelf.

_What have I done?_

Despite his mother's efforts, Chip managed to touch the crucial spot.

He found nothing there.

_Why did I do this to myself?_

Amidst the regret, there was relief.

"I'm going to make him go into sleep mode, Karen. Hold him down, we can't risk him getting damaged any further." His father exclaimed at his mother as he typed something on a machine.

His mother had already placed Chip's hand on the table after having gently closed his screen.

"You'll wake up soon, I promise." His mother cooed to him, the same way she had done when he was a calculator in her arms. "Good night, Chip. We love you."

"I'm sorry son." His father said shakily from afar. "It's for your own good."

Chip began to feel the numb, twitching feeling of his systems entering the empty lethargy of sleep mode.

The words of his mother appeased him, but it was his father's that stayed with him.

_For my own good?_ For some reason, they made Chip feel at ease. _What I did to myself maybe was for my own good too. Right, mom and dad? Right, my friend?_

**_Sleep mode activated. All systems paused._**

* * *

"…and then, the ugly barnacle realized he had made the worst mistake of his life. He regretted it forever and then he died. The end." Patrick closed the book and looked at Chip with a wide, dumb smile on his face. "What a story. Do you want me to read you the sequel, Chip? I wrote it just for you! It's called _'The Barnacle that messed up…again!_'"

Chip stared at the starfish, his eyes full of computer tears. He wiped them off and laid his head on the bed.

"Uncle Patrick, I know you stayed up all night writing those stories and I really appreciate you reading them to me, but I don't really like them that much." Chip said as politely as he could.

Patrick scoffed and stood up from the chair. He slammed the book closed and took off his reading glasses.

"Well, they're obviously not for everyone." Patrick said very offended before going to the entrance of the laboratory, walking like a pretentious academic leaving a classroom full of ignorant students.

Chip watched him leave. Once he was alone in the Chum Bucket's laboratory again, he allowed himself to chuckle.

"He reminds me of my teachers." Chip looked up to the roof. The total silence was only broken by the constant beeps of the machines around him. "I miss college. I wonder when I'm going back, that is…if I'm still able to do so at all."

He opened his screen and touched the now empty spot where his upgrading processor had been. "Without this, I won't be able to upgrade into a form suitable for any career I choose."

"Chip!" his father's voice coming from the intercom in the wall almost caused him to have a short-circuit. "Close your screen! How many times have we told you how dangerous it is for you to do that? If you do it again, I'll ground you, boy!"

"Alright, alright." Chip rolled his eyes as he obeyed his father. "Talk about lack of privacy!"

"Chip, don't sass your father." Her mother said, joining Plankton in the intercom. A security camera in a high corner moved around and inspected the room. "And where's Patrick? I thought he was with you."

"He left." Chip said uncaringly. He picked up a magazine and started to read it.

"What? Dammit, that starfish is useless! He can't even babysit Chip for ten minutes!"

"I told you it was a bad idea to ask him in the first place, but you insisted."

"Well, he did agree to do it only for ten cents, so…" Plankton shrieked as Karen reprimanded him for being a stingy selfish critter. "I'm sorry, okay? I'll find Chip a better babysitter, I promise. And Patrick's not getting paid!"

"Or you could just leave me to take care of myself." Chip suggested, pretending the idea had come up to him out of nowhere. "Just a thought."

The truth was that he had been waiting for the right moment to tell them for the whole week.

"No!" They both exclaimed in unison.

"It was worth a shot." Chip sighed from behind the paper.

When he had woken up from his induced sleep mode, his parents had coddled him to the extreme. His mother tended to his every move and had been there by his side during the most painful moments of his recovery.

Even his father had put his daily attempts to steal the secret formula in an undefined hiatus in order to make sure that the machines that had kept Chip alive during that period didn't malfunction. He wasn't as expressive as his mother, but that sole effort made Chip understand how hard his father was trying.

Chip had been under his parents' attentive care for two whole weeks, and they only had dared to leave his side once Chip had made a complete physical recovery. Unlike organics, computers and other machines recovered quicker and with lesser consequences.

Yet, Chip wasn't allowed to leave the Chum Bucket under any circumstance. That had been the golden rule of the place ever since.

Chip was also not to be left alone at any moment.

Now that his parents were busy with their new _´secret ´_project, they'd hired whoever of their friends were available to look after their son while they worked.

Squidward had been the first to accept, and to Chip's surprise, he hadn't been half bad.

He only put the necessary amount of attention to Chip in order to keep Karen and Plankton from complaining about his horrible babysitting skills and refusing to pay him. The rest of the time, he completely ignored the young computer. They both spent their time reading their own magazines in silence. Chip didn't remember having heard Squidward utter a single word.

Not the funniest of times, but at least they were peaceful, which was the complete opposite Chip could say about Pearl.

When she looked after him, she talked to Chip about all kind of topics and even took pictures with him. Considering their fathers were mortal enemies, they got along and understood each other well. However, her extroverted nature, loud voice and brusque movements that made the floor tremble tended to overwhelm the more reserved Chip after a while.

Still, Chip didn't think she was bad company, just a bit exhausting.

Sandy had been his favorite so far. She was somewhere in between Squidward and Pearl. She talked to Chip without being overbearing, and gave him his space without making him feel he was alone in the room. Sadly for Chip, she was often too busy with her own projects and work to look after him.

Patrick had been the newest one and…

Well, let's say Chip could happily spend the rest of his functioning existence without having to listen to his crazy stories again.

And now that he was gone, his parents would have no other choice than allowing Chip to be alone.

Squidward was giving a clarinet concert in the park, Pearl was going to the beach with her friends, Sandy was busy with a rocket project.

"Is there really no one else we can call?" Karen asked with concern. "If not, then I'll go and stay with Chip."

"No Karen, I can't finish our…our project without your aid." Plankton grunted. "Stupid fools, they can't be counted on for nothing! My son is more important than their meaningless hobbies! And I'm not asking Krabs!"

"Calm down Sheldon, you're going to break something, again."

_I wonder if they know I can still hear them_. Chip though as his parents continued to argue. _Oh well, I can deal with this._

Eventually, his parents cut off the communication.

"Finally." Chip said. He put the magazine aside and looked around. "I'm alone. It feels…"

He stopped. It was strange.

He had longed for solitude for a long time, but now that it had been granted to him, he didn't know what to make of it.

It was refreshing, but also unfamiliar. It even made him wonder why he had wished for it in the first place.

_Now that I think about, I've never been alone in my life. My parents were always with me, especially my mother; even in college, I was never by myself. There were always my classmates, my teachers and…him._

Chip tried not to think much about that matter.

He put his hands on his chest.

_Maybe I should just go into sleep mode._

He remained still in that position for several minutes, but he stayed awake, alone with his thoughts.

_Mom, dad…you sure are working hard for me, aren't you? _Chip changed his position. _I wish you wouldn't. I know what you're doing, even when you try so hard for it to be a surprise. I'm really sorry. I wish I had the courage to tell you your work will be for nothing. That way, you wouldn't waste your time on that thing, and especially, not on your useless, destroyer son…_

"Chip?" It was his mother. He answered to her call and looked at the security camera. "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Nah, don't worry about it." Chip replied, pretending he was fine. "What's up, mom?"

"We found someone to look after you."

"Good." Chip smiled and nodded.

The childish treatment, though touching at first, only served to remind him of his true nature as an immature calculator.

The only reason he hid his anger was because he felt it was the least he could do for his parents.

If taking care of him with such zeal gave them peace, then Chip was willing to play along, no matter how much he truly hated it.

It was a small sacrifice for all they had done for him.

_I wonder if this is why I wanted to be alone so badly, even when I hate being alone a lot more than I hate being treated in this stupid manner._

"So did Squidward finally realize nobody was going to his concert? It was obvious from the start." Chip mocked without true malice.

"It's not him, Chip."

"Ah, I see." Chip twitched his mouth. "Then I guess Pearl is bringing her friends here, huh? It will be like having a party. Neptune save me."

"No, Chip. She's not coming either."

"Sandy?" Chip asked with enthusiasm, but his hopes were crushed when his mother denied his speculations once more. Then, an horrified scowl appeared on his screen. "Is Patrick coming back? I swear mom, if I listen to one more story of his _Ugly_ _Barnacle saga_, I'm going to throw myself out the window."

"It's SpongeBob, Chip." His mother told him without reserves. "He'll be here real soon."

Chip mood changed instantly.

"No, I don't want to see him. I've told you before." He replied dryly.

"It's not up for discussion, Chip." His father told him from the intercom.

"Fine." Chip left the bed and went toward the laboratory's room. "Then I'll leave. And it also won't be up for discussion."

"Chip Plankton II!"

Chip froze at the sound of his full name. It was as if his mother had casted a spell on him.

_This is the purest form of fear I've felt! Dang mom, you're scary!_

"Don't you dare leave the laboratory! Now get back to your bed before I make you."

Chip was about to obey her, but the thought of SpongeBob managed to give him the strength to defy the order and keep walking.

"Chip!"

Great, now even his father was mad at him.

_I'm sorry. I truly am_. Chip thought, rushing toward the door before his courage abandoned him or his mother caught him. _But I can't face SpongeBob. Not after they way I treated him. Not after what he did for me. It would be_…

"Oh, hey Chip." SpongeBob greeted him with a big smile the moment Chip opened the door. The sponge was carrying a small gift in his hands. "Sorry if I took too long, but I wanted to get you something to celebrate your recovery. And no Plankton, it's not the secret Formula."

_…__too shameful. Also, how did you get here so fast? Damn sponges and their aerodynamic structure!_

As his father scolded Chip in the intercom, a giant metal hand emerged from the roof and gently pushed SpongeBob and Chip back inside the laboratory.

"Oh right, I forgot mom can do that," Chip said to himself, "I guess my chances of escaping this place were always zero."

_Just ignore him. Pretend he's a ghost. A yellow, annoying ghost._

"I'm really glad you're fine, Chip." SpongeBob followed him around like his shadow, and Chip treated him as such. "When I heard how damaged you were, I was really scared. It's a good thing your parents are expert in this whole computers and machines thing. Sandy helped them too, you know? I would have joined them, but it turns out that cooking Krabby Patties doesn't really prepare you for engineering and programming tasks. Yeah, I was surprised too."

Chip went to check some of his father's papers. He pretended to read them, hoping SpongeBob would go away.

"By the way, I'm sorry I didn't come sooner to visit you. I've been very busy lately." SpongeBob smiled apologetically.

Chip thought he would be crushed under the weight of his own guilt.

He moved again, this time to a cooking machine. Though it was impeccably clean, Chip began to scrub it with a rag.

"Anyway, that's in the past now. Now, how about you open the gift I bought you? It's fine if you don't like it. I mean, I like it, but it's yours, so what I think doesn't matter. Which kinda raises the question of why I even mentioned it in the first place…"

"Why?" Chip dropped the rag to the floor. He was trembling, and he didn't dare to look at him in the eye. "Why you did it, uncle SpongeBob?"

"I just thought you'd like a present. I mean, who doesn't? Maybe Squidward, but I think he's just too picky—"

"Why did you save me?"

"Huh?"

Chip turned around.

"Why did you warn my parents about me even after I punched you? You could have just left me to my fate. I wouldn't have blamed you. I hurt you real bad."

SpongeBob touched the side of his head. Chip could see a small scar that hadn't fully healed.

"You pack a good punch, that's true." SpongeBob said with a soft chuckle. "But I don't understand why you think that would make me no longer care that you were in trouble."

"I hurt you! I humiliated you in front of all those people in the arcade!" Chip felt the impulse of giving him another punch on the face, if only to get his point across SpongeBob's porous, silly brain. "If I were you, I would have just forgotten about me."

"Well, we're lucky you're not me then."

"So what? That's still doesn't explain why you still cared about what could happen to me! Are you an idiot or what?"

"Squidward may agree with you on that one." SpongeBob laughed.

Chip had never felt more patronized in his life.

_Why? Why isn't he angry with me? Unless…_

"I see." Chip muttered. "That's why."

"Chip?"

"You're not going to get angry with the kid, are you?" Chip walked closer to him. "Oh no, the mature sponge knows better. He is above getting mad with the baby calculator that messed up so badly that he almost got himself killed. Poor baby Chippy doesn't know what he's doing, so don't be harsh on him, please."

"It's not like that." SpongeBob said, shocked at the insinuation.

"Then how the hell it's like? Care to explain?" Chip raised his voice louder than he wanted. For a moment, he was worried his parents had heard him, but the intercom remained silent and the camera didn't move. He looked at SpongeBob again. "You know that my parents didn't allow you to see me because I told them I didn't want you to come here, right?"

SpongeBob looked a bit nervous.

"Yes, I know that."

"And that doesn't make you angry?"

"I'm sure you had your motives, Chip."

"Oh, I did. And you know what they were?"

"No, and you don't have to tell me."

"I was ashamed of what I've done to you, and I was scared you'd hate me."

"Well, now you can be sure that I don't hate you."

"But I'm still ashamed of what I did to you, and you don't care. You act as if it had never happened, as if I hadn't done anything wrong. You act like that, and it makes me feel as if none of it mattered, as if everything I did had been…" Chip growled and turn his back on SpongeBob. "Whatever."

He went back to the bed and sit on the edge.

_A meltdown in front of uncle SpongeBob. Yeah, as if I didn't feel embarrassed enough already._

He heard the squeaky sounds of SpongeBob's steps coming closer.

It didn't take long for SpongeBob to appear in front of him. He sat on the floor.

Chip ignored him and fixed his eyes on the laboratory doors.

"Looks like you've thought about this a lot, huh?" SpongeBob said.

"Well, when you're locked inside here for weeks, you're recreative activities become rather limited."

"Yeah, no kidding." SpongeBob scratched his head. "I was really angry when you punched me, Chip. Sponges are naturally resistant to blunt damage, but Neptune, that hurt like heck!"

Chip looked away and rested his head on one hand.

"And the way you acted was stupid and immature."

Chip knew that, but it was still strange to hear it coming from someone else. Even more when that someone was SpongeBob.

"That's a bit hypocritical of you, isn't it?" he said. "You're not exactly the representation of mature behavior, uncle SpongeBob."

"True…hey, don't get mad. It was an observation, I'm not scolding you or anything."

"Well, it sure sounded like it."

"What I'm trying to say is that, even if you acted badly, you don't have to beat yourself up about it so much. You're still young Chip, it's natural for you to do stupid mistakes. Grownups do that all the time too! Just try to do better next time, and everything will be fine."

Chip finally dared to look at SpongeBob. He was talking with a smile.

"Uncle SpongeBob." Chip could barely talk. "Are you telling me I should just deal with it and grow up?"

"Wow, you put it so harshly. That's certainly something you inherited from your father." SpongeBob said. He thought for a moment before answering. "Learn from it, but don't think about it so much. Like, take it seriously, but not that seriously. Messing up it's just a part of growing up. Wait, that's the wrong term for computers…what do you call it? Upgrading?"

"Yes." Chip's body started to tremble.

SpongeBob nodded and gave him thumbs up. "Enjoy all the stages of your upgrading, Chip! When they are good, be happy about it. When they are bad, learn from them, but don't dwell on them. They're a part of life, and they'll help you become the computer you want to be."

"Uncle SpongeBob." Chip tried to move, but his body felt light. "I'm never going to become the machine I want to be. I'll stay the way I am forever."

"No, you won't! I'm sure you'll grow up, or upgrade, into a good adult computer, or whatever you want to be."

"No, I won't." Chip didn't know what made him speak so honestly. He opened his screen and showed SpongeBob the missing processor inside him. "I can't."

It was SpongeBob's turn to look ashamed. Sandy had told him about what had happened to Chip, but he hadn't understood half of what she said.

So that's what she had meant when she said Chip was damaged beyond repair.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that machine had hurt so you badly." SpongeBob said with pity.

"No, it wasn't him." Chip left the table and sat down next to SpongeBob. "This is something I did to myself."

It was the first time Chip entrusted his secret to someone. He had expected his parents to be first ones to know, but in the end, that role had fell on SpongeBob.

They looked at each other without saying a word.

_This feels good. I'm sure everything will fall apart for me after this, but right now, it feels good. It's as if my circuits can finally work in peace again…_

He felt it again. That memory was to be stored in the deepest, and now useless, part of his CPU.

They stayed that way for a long while.

Between them, SpongeBob's gift laid forgotten.


End file.
